In my kitchen…

A very productive day was spent mainly in the kitchen: Quiche, lasagne, loaf, buns and jam tarts were produced, alongside making pancakes for a poorly MrGT and roasting a knuckle of lamb for dinner. ( how about that for multitasking?!

The quiche and tarts share the same pastry recipe, which is so simple it’s laughable.
9oz flour ( I use a couple of ounces of fibre mix along with plain gluten free flour for a shorter, more biscuity crumble)
5oz butter, or even a 50 / 50 mix of butter and lard
1 egg
Pinch of salt
1 teaspoon of xanthan gum

Bung it all in the food processor and mix until it begins to form a ball. If it’s all beginning to get caught up under the mixer blades just add a spoonful of flour which will loosen it.

Gluten free pastry is at its best when it is only just dry enough to handle / roll out. So if your ball of pastry is fairly sticky when you take it out of the mixer only add enough flour to make it clean to handle.

Gluten free pastry has no need to rest, so you can get on straight away.

Mmmmm! Jam tarts

Simple things

:: discovering :: a red phonebox on a recent campervan excursion, only to realise that The Tallest didn’t know what a Public Telephone was! Soon rectified with the aid of a mobile (!)

:: Playing :: At one of our village parks, making the most of the brightest sunshine, trying to soak it all up and preserve the memories for the coming darker days.

:: Proud :: Of the harvesting and preserving going on thanks to the allotment, it may be small scale, we are sure to have run out before Spring arrives, but it’s Ours!

:: Learning :: Something new everyday. Like mattress alteration! Don’t fear something that you’ve never done before, embrace it, and you might discover that you enjoy it (I did!), as well as saving a shed load of money by not having a professional alter it for you. (Photo credit : The Tallest)

:: Baking :: The joyful knowledge that a little bit of pastry (Gluten Free of course…) can turn yesterdays leftovers into some attractive looking supper.

:: Celebrating :: The 2nd Birthday of a wee friend, at that most perfect of places, the beach. Laughing at the mad dog. Enjoying party food made at home with care and love. Gratitude to have found such good friends.

Simple things, simply put, what’s been shaping your Summer?

Mmmm Buns!

Oh the sweet joys of a Butterfly Bun…I’m glad The Girls are enjoying them as somehow I’ve managed to make the icing so sweet that it makes my fillings ache just to eat one…maybe a sign that I should be eating less sweet stuff anyway don’t you think?

Dropped scones and greenhouses

Well I was going to type that I was enjoying a restful Saturday morning with the Girls, (after a disturbed night of hearing my beloved groaning with belly ache), but arguments have started already, and I can see that my anticipated morning of pottering will have to involve a fair amount of negotiating between the warring factions too.

Breakfast was at the very least a success, using a modified ( i.e. gluten free) version of the Drop Scones recipes from the Marvellous River Cottage Family Cook Book, with the addition of Xanthan Gum, more milk, and of course using gluten free flour (why make it at all if you can’t sample the goods I say!) The Smallest in particular has eaten possibly the equivalent to her own body weight in these, and is, as I type this still eating! We don’t have a great deal of time week day mornings so we all enjoy a leisurely morning when we can get one…

Delayed work has started on the greenhouse at long last, I’m not even going to talk about the Allotment, but between suddenly requiring the services of my cardiologist, a permanently at work husband, and vomiting children, I have given up even thinking about spending time down there.

Hubby assures me that ‘a chap from work’ is cutting me old scaffold boards as I type, so in effect all I will have to do with the beds is make sure they are straight when I put them together. And fill them up of course, never mind all the clearing that will now need to be done thanks to the sunshine and showers, why oh! why did we have to have a decent start to the Spring when I am the least prepared that I have ever been? *runs off to gibber in a corner*

I have decided, whether I’ve somewhere to put it all or not, that the Girls and I are going to start sowing some seeds today, I’ll have to find somewhere out of arms reach, or they won’t make it past a few days before they have either been drowned or dug out! But we’re doing it, perhaps the sight of all those precariously balanced window ledge pots will prompt Hubby into helping me get the greenhouse finished…(I live in hope)

Fingers crossed for a productive weekend, whatever you’re doing, and hoping that the sunshine will make things go all the smoother.

Christmas Tree Biscuits

I’d show you a photo of the completed biscuits if I had one, but they have already been distributed amongst all their young friends. The Tallest spent time stringing each of hers up with sisal string, and accompanying them with a hand printed lino – cut card ( she did the printing – I did the lino cutting before you ask!) The Smallest just popped hers in a tray ready for sharing at Nursery. And all was well with the world.

Yes quite a lot of organised effort was involved, but it was so worth it to see the joy that these two little girls got out of  sharing things that they had made themselves. If they grow up continuing to appreciate it, then I think that MrGT and I can say we have done our job…

How are your Christmas preparations going?

p.s. The recipe is Juvela’s Gluten Free Crunchy Biscuit recipe, one I use on a weekly basis and they come up trumps every time.

Gluten Free Cheese Straws

:: Those of us who follow a gluten free diet all know how easy it is to grab a bit of puff pastry, grate some cheese and voila! Fabulous cheese straws in 5 minutes. Not quite that easy when you are gluten free, but these I have to admit, are pretty good. I admit they won’t take 5 minutes, maybe 10! But well worth the effort. ::

Preheat your oven 220′c / 425′f

Ingredients:

4oz / 120g           Grated Cheese (your choice, but something hard)

40z / 120g          White Gluten Free Self Raising Flour

2oz / 60g            Fibre / Brown Gluten Free Flour

Heaped Teaspoon Xanthan Gum

Pinch of Salt

8floz / 250ml     Double Cream

What to do:

Flour a baking tray, they WILL stick!

Mix all the dry ingredients into a bowl and mix together.

Add your cheese and mix in well

Add the cream and work the mixture with a fork at first, when the mixture starts to form a dough begin to work it onto a ball with your hands, it will be crumbly at first, but bear with it, it will come together eventually.

Knead your dough on a floured board until it becomes smooth and shiny, when I say knead, think more along the lines of wedging clay! This dough is firm, but don’t fear it’ll all come good in the end.

Roll out to around 1cm / 1/2″ thick, and then cut to desired length and shape. (I put a twist in mine, but admittedly only to show that even though its gluten free it hasn’t crumbled!)

Bake in the oven until golden, around 15 minutes

Leave to cool, and then fight off your children before they eat them all!

:: Enjoy! ::

Seeded Breakfast Bars

100g / 2oz          Sunflower Seeds

100g / 2oz          Pumpkin Seeds

100g / 2oz          Sesame Seeds

200g / 4oz         Dried Fruit (I used dates and raisins, but have also used cranberries, bluberries even banana it’s what ever is in your store cupboard                                     really)

100g / 2oz         Either gluten free oats or gluten free plain flour

150g 3oz            Butter

Can of Condensed Milk

Your own selection of spices ( when I feel like cheating I use a mild curry spice mixture)

• Weigh out all the dry ingredients into a mixing bowl
• Melt the butter and warm the condensed milk in a bowl over boiling water
• Pour this mixture into the dry ingredients and mix well
• Pour into a straight sided flapjack type baking tray, which should be lined with greaseproof paper
• Bake in a hot oven for 20 minutes

:: A little basic I admit, but a very tasty treat for the the lunch box, or a perfect addition to a nice cuppa ::

Good Gluten Free Pastry

:: Following the gift of a rather large chicken, which was Thank Goodness already plucked and drawn (hooray and thank you Val!) After half of it had been frozen, and the other half roasted – probably only half of that had ben eaten, so the next day’s dinner? A lovely Gluten Free Chicken Pie of course ::

Gluten Free Savoury Pastry Recipe

9oz / 225gms Gluten free plain flour plus extra for dusting

1 heaped teaspoon Xantham Gum

Pinch of Salt

5oz / 150gms Butter

1 Free Range Egg, whisked and mixed with 3 tablespoons of cold water

• Sift the flour, Xantham Gum and salt into a bowl and mix well, cut the butter into cubes and rub into the flour mixture.
• Make a well in the centre of the mixture, and add enough egg and water mixture to bring the pastry together using a fork.
• Begin to work the pastry into a ball with your hands, if it is too dry add a few more drops of liquid, try not to add too much liquid as although a wet dough is easier to work with a dry dough produces a better taste and texture after baking.
• Knead and flatten the dough for a minute of two, if you have the time wrap the dough in clingfilm and place in the fridge to help prevent too much shrinkage, but if not don’t worry too much as after all it is gluten free so less elastic than a ‘normal’ wheatflour dough.
• Roll out between two parchment sheets (if necessary) and use as desired.

:: I used up my leftover chicken in the pie, I chopped it into small pieces, added plenty of freshly ground black pepper and seasoned with salt to taste, poured in enough double cream to fill in all the gaps between the meat pieces and covered it over – rather delicious – and super simple too ::

Decorated Tree Biscuits

:: Due to an unexpected day off from my usual work, I’m nursing a poorly Smallest whilst the Tallest has fun and frolics with her Nursery chums, I ended up getting a batch of tree biscuits baked without the usual distractions of a 4 year old to deal with :: And not wanting these to be entirely ‘mama-made’ they were used as the basis for our before bed ‘activity’ ::

:: As you can see from the tray we started off with six biscuits to decorate, but one unexpectedly got ‘broken’ and had to be eaten! :: Accidentally on purpose is my favourite sort – they always taste SO much nicer don’t you think? :: The recipe I used is my Basic Gluten Free Biscuit Recipe which make a really nice crunchy biscuit, but to keep things seasonal I added some ground ginger and mixed spice mmmmm Christmassy ::

:: Here are three of the beauties in close up :: We kept things simple, as offering too much choice just before bedtime usually results in disaster! :: She’s so happy with them that she’d like to give some to her Nursery teachers :: Enter Mummy for a bit of late night appropriate packaging retrieval ::

:: Work tomorrow so unless I am feeling particularly perky I’ll drop you folks a line on Friday, when hopefully I should have finished that danged hat :: Too many distractions (read work and children!) and not enough time (read FAR too easily distracted!) ::

:: By the by, Thanks Friends for a lovely evening, good company; good conversation and a warm fire to do it besides….we really should do it far more often than we do! ::

A hot afternoon for baking

Despite the hot and muggy weather that we have been experiencing, the Girls and I spent a busy afternoon in the kitchen, with some rather pleasing results.

Pardon the colour but it was taken at night using a mobile phone, not the best combination.

Everything that you see is gluten free, and I have to confess that the sausage rolls are a first time try, which have gone remarkably well, just a standard gluten free pastry recipe, but using Self Raising rather than Plain GF flour, to give the pastry a lighter texture, and I have to say that it worked.

Gluten Free pastry is notoriously crumbly and very good at falling apart when you touch it. This I am afraid to say is no exception, but while the texture will never be as good as ‘the real thing’ the taste is excellent, and by keeping the dough ‘dry’ rather than wet when working it it doesn’t go like sheets of iron once it has been in the oven.

I’ve eaten three already, I don’t think that rest will survive the weekend at this rate!